AC600 wifi USB sticks for ham-radio use (5 Ghz)

AC600 wifi USB sticks for ham-radio use (5 Ghz)

[Kristoff]

Hi all,


I am interested in using wifi devices for ham-radio use, especially for 
HSMM (adhoc, olsr) and HAMNET; e.g. by extending their frequency-range 
for the complete hamradio bands.

One of these devices I am looking at for 6 cm operations is the AC600 
(mt7610-based).
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-Mini-2-4GHz-5GHz-Dual-Band-USB-Network-Card-5dBi-Antenna-AC600-802-11ac-Wireless/32246544516.html

For that, I have been hacking the kernel-driver found here:
https://github.com/coolshou/mt7610u


I managed to change the driver to get it to work on all channels in the 
13 cm and 6 cm bands: channels 1 (2.412Ghz) to 6 (2.437) and channels 
132 (5.660 Ghz) up to 168 (5.840 Ghz).

As of today, I have been running pings and olsr between two linux PCs 
(Ubuntu LTS) using these devices on 5 Ghz in wifi ad-hoc mode.


However, I am now running into a number of issues:
- packets being queued before being send (i.e. a one-ping per second is 
not received at the same rate at the remote side: first 4 seconds 
nothing is received and then a burst of 4 pings in one go)
- packets lost
- "iwlist freq" only shows parts of the frequencies
- "ifconfig" does not show the ESSID you have configures (but it does 
seams to use it).

And, in short, the code can use a lot of cleaning.



So I am looking for people who can help me with information about this:

- does anybody have a good document that explains how userland 
application interact with a kernel wifi network driver: sending data, 
receiving data, iwconfig, iw, iwpriv, ...

- Does anybody have experience with adapting wifi devices for ham-radio?
I did some work on atheros-based wifi dongles to get them to operate on 
2.3 Ghz before, but these "mt7610u" drivers seams to be a lot more 
complex. So any advice would be helpfull.

Is there documentation of other simular projects?


- When searching the web, I found multiple different drivers for the 
mt7610u; all a bit different and from different projects.
Even on the kernel.org website, there is  another version for the 4.5 
kernel.

Are there other / better drivers out there for the mt7610u then the one 
I use now, that can be more easily addapted for ham-radio use?

My goal would be to run this on small unix-boards (RPi, BBB, ...) as 
dedicated network node for HSMM or hamnet; so drivers compatible with 
the versions of the linux kernel found on these devices are interesting.


- Has anybody done RF measurements on these 5 Ghz wifi-sticks and looked 
at the RF signal they transmit, e.g. when using the frequencies not 
assigned for the official wifi-channels?

- Has anybody ever tested these AC600/mr7610u devices and checked if 
they can operate below 2.4 Ghz? (like the atheros chips)?


Any info would be very usefull.


73
kristoff - ON1ARF

Re: AC600 wifi USB sticks for ham-radio use (5 Ghz)

[Miroslav Skoric]

On 02/21/2016 10:29 PM, Kristoff wrote:

> So I am looking for people who can help me with information about this:
>
> - does anybody have a good document that explains how userland
> application interact with a kernel wifi network driver: sending data,
> receiving data, iwconfig, iw, iwpriv, ...
>
> - Does anybody have experience with adapting wifi devices for ham-radio?
> I did some work on atheros-based wifi dongles to get them to operate on
> 2.3 Ghz before, but these "mt7610u" drivers seams to be a lot more
> complex. So any advice would be helpfull.
>
> Is there documentation of other simular projects?
>
>

Hi Kristoff,

Some information related to using Wifi in ham radio you can find there:

http://hamnet.ugu.pl/download/HamNET.pdf

http://sp2pmk.ampr.org/

http://wiki.hamnet.ugu.pl/download/HamNET-Winlink_Emcom.pdf

http://www.broadband-hamnet.org/

https://www.arcman.de/doku.phphttp://db0fhn.efi.fh-nuernberg.de/doku.php?id=projects:wlan:hamnet

https://www.tapr.org/pdf/DCC2014-TheEuropeanHAMNET-DG8NGN.pdf


Maybe something from above might help you (depending on your foreign 
language skills). You can also share with us the sources you find 
elsewhere (as well as your own achievements). In fact, as a book chapter 
author I look for prospective contributors to my planned publication on 
ham radio in education, and I consider WiFi adaptation to ham purpose as 
a valuable topic for further rethinking in academic environments.

Best regards, 73!

Miroslav "Misko" Skoric, YT7MPB

-- 

tutorial instructor:

http://www.comcas.org/
http://sdiwc.net/conferences/icctim2015/
http://wocn2014.org/wtutorials.html
http://sdiwc.net/conferences/2014/iceee2014/tutorial/
http://www.juit.ac.in/ISPCC_2013/
http://www.buruniv.ac.in/ICCS-2013/index.html
http://www.sdiwc.net/thi/
http://www.sdiwc.net/kl/
http://www.iaeng.org/IMECS2011
http://www.dirf.org/ndt2010
http://www.icact.org/
http://www.iaeng.org/IMECS2009
http://www.iaria.org/conferences2008/ICWMC08.html
http://www.wseas.org/conferences/2008/greece/education/
http://www.wseas.us/conferences/2009/rodos/education
http://eurocon2007.isep.pw.edu.pl/index.php?id=tutorials.php
http://tldp.org/HOWTO/FBB.html

workshop / visiting lecturer:

IIITM Gwalior, India
SRM University, Chennai, India
Vardhaman College of Engineering, Hyderabad, India
GRIET, Hyderabad, India
NIT Surat, India
IIT, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
Techno India NJR Institute of Technology, Udaipur, India
BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore, India
IIITM-K, Technopark, Trivandrum, India
BU, Bangkok, Thailand
IIUM, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

book chapter author:

Handbook of Research on Human Performance and Instructional Technology
ISBN: 978-1-60566-782-9; 678 pp; October 2009
Published under Information Science Reference, an imprint of IGI Global
http://www.igi-global.com/reference/details.asp?id=34814

Simulation in Computer Network Design and Modeling: Use and Analysis
ISBN: 978-1-46660-191-8; 582 pages; February 2012
Published by IGI Global, USA
http://www.igi-global.com/book/simulation-computer-network-design-modeling/58282

Wireless Networks and Security: Issues, Challenges and Research Trends
ISBN: 978-3-642-36168-5; 510 pages; February 2013
Published by Springer, Germany
http://www.springer.com/engineering/signals/book/978-3-642-36168-5

Handbook of Research on Progressive Trends in Wireless Communications 
and Networking
ISBN: 9781466651708; 592 pages; February 2014
Published by IGI Global, USA
http://www.igi-global.com/book/wireless-communications-networking/90600

Re: AC600 wifi USB sticks for ham-radio use (5 Ghz)

[Kristoff]

Hi Misko,




Well, I also got the same idea. Adapted wifi-dongles are a bit like the 
SDR DVB-T dongles: cheap and easy ways to get people involved into 
digital communication, especially Ghz communication.
(and for me, it's also a way to learn more about linux drivers).


Thanks for your links. I can read [nl], [fr], [de] and [en] so that is 
good, however, Polish is not on that list. I hope the translate-machines 
on the internet can make something usefull out of this.


However, I have not really seen a lot of information on what I am 
working on: patching wifi-drivers for linux.



The work on the atheros chipset to get them to work on 2.3 Ghz is based 
on work done by two hams from Romania. The AC600 sticks is something I 
started myself.

Concerning releasing the code, I am actually discussing this with some 
people.

Not that I do not understand how open-source works, but we do have to be 
carefull not to let anybody get on ham-band frequencies, even people 
without a ham-license who do not adhere to ham-radio regulation 
(identification of stations, no-encryption, carefull and non-interfering 
operations, ...)

One idea I have at this time is to create a ham-radio-only kernel driver 
that is for actually more limited then normal wifi for normal users: 
e.g. by removing the encryption layer.


What book are you writing for? Is it one on this list?


73
kristoff - ON1ARF


On 22-02-16 22:42, Miroslav Skoric wrote:
> On 02/21/2016 10:29 PM, Kristoff wrote:
>
>> So I am looking for people who can help me with information about this:
>>
>> - does anybody have a good document that explains how userland
>> application interact with a kernel wifi network driver: sending data,
>> receiving data, iwconfig, iw, iwpriv, ...
>>
>> - Does anybody have experience with adapting wifi devices for ham-radio?
>> I did some work on atheros-based wifi dongles to get them to operate on
>> 2.3 Ghz before, but these "mt7610u" drivers seams to be a lot more
>> complex. So any advice would be helpfull.
>>
>> Is there documentation of other simular projects?
>>
>>
>
> Hi Kristoff,
>
> Some information related to using Wifi in ham radio you can find there:
>
> http://hamnet.ugu.pl/download/HamNET.pdf
>
> http://sp2pmk.ampr.org/
>
> http://wiki.hamnet.ugu.pl/download/HamNET-Winlink_Emcom.pdf
>
> http://www.broadband-hamnet.org/
>
> https://www.arcman.de/doku.phphttp://db0fhn.efi.fh-nuernberg.de/doku.php?id=projects:wlan:hamnet 
>
>
> https://www.tapr.org/pdf/DCC2014-TheEuropeanHAMNET-DG8NGN.pdf
>
>
> Maybe something from above might help you (depending on your foreign 
> language skills). You can also share with us the sources you find 
> elsewhere (as well as your own achievements). In fact, as a book 
> chapter author I look for prospective contributors to my planned 
> publication on ham radio in education, and I consider WiFi adaptation 
> to ham purpose as a valuable topic for further rethinking in academic 
> environments.
>
> Best regards, 73!
>
> Miroslav "Misko" Skoric, YT7MPB
>

Ham radio book project (was: AC600 wifi USB sticks for ham-radio use (5 Ghz)

[Miroslav Skoric]

On 02/22/2016 11:45 PM, Kristoff wrote:

>
> What book are you writing for? Is it one on this list?
>

Hi Kristoff, and others ...

The titles I listed at the end of this mail are the books that have been 
already published. Those books have compiled results of several chapter 
authors (not only me). However, my chapters were contributions to the 
overall book themes but they covered ham radio topics that I thought to 
be useful for the academic people & educational environments. Having in 
mind that those books have been published & printed by the academic 
publishing houses, and that the books were intended for scholarly 
audiences (teachers, professors, lecturers, students, researchers, 
scientists, ...), I wanted to enter a readership community that I 
considered as very important for the ham radio future.

As you can also see at the end, I have been visiting schools, 
universities, and institutes in order to promote ham radio, Linux, open 
source, etc. During my visits I recognized that many well-educated 
people do not know much about ham radio (if any), but they are 
well-equipped with valuable academic resources that can be used for 
improving our radio systems - especially in data modes. (For example, 
they have excellent computer labs, costly instruments, electronics 
parts, stable electricity, high buildings, ...)

I have also noticed that the educational community prefers literature 
that is published by known academic publishers, rather than materials 
that are unofficially posted on the web. Secondly, the majority of those 
people and their libraries consider as serious only the literature that 
is properly written and structured by following some official 
requirements, such as citing other sources of information, referencing 
other authors, listing key-words & indexing topics in scientific manner, 
etc etc. I myself had to follow those requirements because without it my 
chapters would not be included. However, now I can tell you that my ham 
chapters in those books went to the libraries in many universities and 
technical colleges all around the world.

On the other side, the reality is that (big) academic publishers are 
commercial companies, and they sell books for profit. They invest their 
own money in preparing & printing the books, which means that the 
contributing authors have no costs for the final output (except their 
personal time and effort in writing). That also means that the authors 
do their part of the game only for gaining professional reputation & 
expertise and to build international recognition. (Don't expect any $$$ 
per sold copy, but only your author's free copy and/or a good discount 
for buying one.)

So, that's the story. Now, after 4 chapters already published (and the 
5th one in press), I have been thinking about a stand-alone book project 
on ham radio in education that would include the following topics and 
structure (but not limited to):

- Introduction (broad definition, history of the amateur radio hobby, 
personal experience within the same area, ...),
- Background (discussion of previous works - literature review, etc.),
- Discussion of hardware aspects:
  - ham digital experience with older computers /Commodore 64, PC AT 
i80286/,
  - newer PC compatibles /various Intel and AMD platforms/,
  - non-PC solutions such as industrial computers, RaspBerry Pi, ...
  - discussion about amateur radio modems, antennas ...
  - technical modifications in radio devices and computers,
- Discussion of software aspects:
  - general view to the operating systems used by 'digital' amateur 
radio enthusiasts,
  - a preliminary study and discussion related to proprietary vs. open 
software solutions (focus on Linux and packet radio software for Linux, 
however MS Windows would be also covered),
  - packet radio programs for email server administrators, as well as 
for end-users (all operating system platforms),
  - software for packet radio 'nodes' (i.e. radio relay systems), based 
on PC computers and/or modem EPROMs, etc.),
  - possibilities of gateway operations (VHF-HF, packet-pactor, etc.),
- Discussion of diverse locations for implementing amateur digital radio:
  - home 'shacks' (personal radio facilities),
  - informal/formal scholarly activities with 'ham radio' in computer 
and/or electronics laboratories,
  - possibilities of ham radio in workplaces, etc.,
  - practical advices (positioning antennas, power supply, air 
conditioning for computer rooms, various home-brew appliances such as 
using old refrigerators for housing/protecting sensitive digital 
equipment, ...),
- Influence of the amateur (digital) radio hobby to one's preferred 
lifestyle and profession:
  - examples of scholars, scientists, and researchers who started with 
'ham radio' in their early career days,
  - personal experience (motivated family background, early start with 
'ham radio' some 25 years ago, starting and growing with academic 
writing on that technical activity - magazine articles, conference 
papers, book chapters, half-day tutorials, 1-2 day workshops; networking 
with scholars and researchers during the technical events; exploring new 
countries, cultures, educational systems, etc.),
- Review of today's prevalent ways in disseminating amateur radio 
instructions:
  - presence/absence in implementation of 'help' sections within the 
packet software packages,
  - (in)adequate 'expert' technical language as (not) suitable for 
beginners and people who are not technically literate,
  - mis(use) of informal descriptions followed by improper formatting in 
documents /Eg. no formal style, such as APA-style, in presenting 
information, visible overuse of street-jargon, etc.,
- Displaying experience with exchanging information related to amateur 
radio theory and praxis in conferences, symposiums, seminars, recent 
tutorials, workshops (incl. various aspects: technical, professional, 
inter-cultural, etc),
- Amateur radio as a motivating factor for computing- and 
engineering-related community to learn and explore new cultures, new 
countries, various tourist aspects such as new people, flora and fauna, 
food, drink, etc ... - thankfully to the 'ham radio' (that would include 
personal experience with conferencing, as well as travel experience 
provided by the other amateurs (such as travelling to/from contest 
locations in remote and rural areas, research expeditions, etc.,
- Research and development: should include experience provided by 
amateur radio groups and societies (mainly in western countries) that 
have been exploring 'ham radio' alongside their teaching and learning 
activities; a suggested project of AMUNET (the amateur radio university 
network - a vision of the future networking between educational 
institutions on local and global level; the influence and potential 
results from astronauts on spaceships who practiced digital amateur 
radio experiments and conducted correspondence with schools, etc.,
- Inclusion/Convergence with other technologies:
  - Experimenting with various Linux/Unix applications, such as 
librarian databases that might be accessed and browsed from the amateur 
packet radio networks,
  - 'Green technologies' - small wind or solar energy plants in 
appropriate locations (one of my last visiting places was one of the 
most Sun-covered area of India where relatively small solar panels could 
provide enough electricity to power 'ham radio' relay stations),
- Experiments in 'the wild' (open field) such as weekend-amateurs who 
might provide temporary radio-relay services from  picnic locations in 
the woods or seaside, or something similar,
- Potentials of amateur radio in unrelated research directions and 
sciences (such as collecting weather related data from remote locations 
like mountain tops, ideas of tracking wild animals /endangered species/ 
by using amateur radio digital devices, etc.),
- Ham radio in emergency situations (traffic accidents, monsoons, 
floods, quakes, tsunamis, ...)
- Final discussions and conclusions,
- Acknowledgements,
- References,
- Additional literature list,
- Index words, glossary etc.,
- Appendices (program codes, configuration and parameter file examples, 
additional figures that do not fit to the chapter text, etc).

I would appreciate if you could respond with comments on possible 
scholarly ham radio topics & projects that *you* might contribute to the 
book, including the projects you are/were/have been doing together with 
local ham clubs, organizations and unions as well as with local schools.

Best regards, 73!

Misko, YT7MPB

-- 

tutorial instructor:

http://www.comcas.org/
http://sdiwc.net/conferences/icctim2015/
http://wocn2014.org/wtutorials.html
http://sdiwc.net/conferences/2014/iceee2014/tutorial/
http://www.juit.ac.in/ISPCC_2013/
http://www.buruniv.ac.in/ICCS-2013/index.html
http://www.sdiwc.net/thi/
http://www.sdiwc.net/kl/
http://www.iaeng.org/IMECS2011
http://www.dirf.org/ndt2010
http://www.icact.org/
http://www.iaeng.org/IMECS2009
http://www.iaria.org/conferences2008/ICWMC08.html
http://www.wseas.org/conferences/2008/greece/education/
http://www.wseas.us/conferences/2009/rodos/education
http://eurocon2007.isep.pw.edu.pl/index.php?id=tutorials.php
http://tldp.org/HOWTO/FBB.html

workshop / visiting lecturer:

IIITM Gwalior, India
SRM University, Chennai, India
Vardhaman College of Engineering, Hyderabad, India
GRIET, Hyderabad, India
NIT Surat, India
IIT, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
Techno India NJR Institute of Technology, Udaipur, India
BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore, India
IIITM-K, Technopark, Trivandrum, India
BU, Bangkok, Thailand
IIUM, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

book chapter author:

Handbook of Research on Human Performance and Instructional Technology
ISBN: 978-1-60566-782-9; 678 pp; October 2009
Published under Information Science Reference, an imprint of IGI Global
http://www.igi-global.com/reference/details.asp?id=34814

Simulation in Computer Network Design and Modeling: Use and Analysis
ISBN: 978-1-46660-191-8; 582 pages; February 2012
Published by IGI Global, USA
http://www.igi-global.com/book/simulation-computer-network-design-modeling/58282

Wireless Networks and Security: Issues, Challenges and Research Trends
ISBN: 978-3-642-36168-5; 510 pages; February 2013
Published by Springer, Germany
http://www.springer.com/engineering/signals/book/978-3-642-36168-5

Handbook of Research on Progressive Trends in Wireless Communications 
and Networking
ISBN: 9781466651708; 592 pages; February 2014
Published by IGI Global, USA
http://www.igi-global.com/book/wireless-communications-networking/90600